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This past weekend I had the pleasure of meeting one of my biggest inspiration, Alice Waters. For those of you who don’t know, Alice Waters pioneered the California Cuisine movement in the early 1970s, emphasizing the use of fresh and locally sourced ingredients and integrating them into healthy and flavorful dishes.

When I decided to start Lajollacooks4u ten years ago, I wanted to shine light on the importance on how eating healthy does not have to be boring. I drew from Alice and her famed restaurant, Chez Panisse, located in Berkeley, California. Going off of Alice’s farm-to-table movement, my husband and I decided to turn part of our backyard into a sustaining garden. We now plant and grow beautiful seasonal fruits and vegetables such as swiss chard, artichokes, cilantro, sage, carrots, strawberries, avocados, passion fruits and more.

With our garden in full bloom, cooking with our home grown produce elevated my dishes with fresh flavor and texture. I knew that what was happening in my garden and in my kitchen was something that had to be share. Thus, Lajollacooks4u was born!

When I met with Alice this past Sunday at San Diego’s famous Chino Farms, I expressed to Alice how much the California Cuisine movement meant to me. Alice and I swapped books (the Lajollacooks4u California Cuisine cookbook and Alice Water’s newest novel, Coming to my Senses) and discussed our love of healthy and organic food.

*This tahini sauce is so delicious and flexible that you’ll want to pour it over everything! This new sauce also pairs well with eggplant, lentils and warm winter salads. You can also smear the tahini sauce over salmon and roast, the possibilities are endless as it’s a wonderful mouthful of flavor….

Marinade and Rub for Brisket or Chuck Roast

Chef Jodi usually prefers chuck roast over brisket for these recipes. Chuck roast has more fat and it literally melts in your mouth. Mmm!! Add veggies within the last hour of cooking for a delicious 1-pot meal!

In a small bowl combine all ingredients. Rub seasoning all over meat. Place meat in a freezer baggie or glass Pyrex dish and pour marinade over meat. Seal baggie or cover glass dish and refrigerate overnight or for several hours

Roast meat at 300 degrees for 3 -4 hours with lid or tin foil tightly covering baking dish. I also grill the meat. Sear on high for 30 – 40 minutes on grill. Then place in aluminum container with remaining marinade and cover tightly with 3 layers of tin foil. Turn grill or smoker on low or 275 – 300 degrees and cook 3 – 4 hours until meat in tender. Check at 2 ½ hours, you may need to put water in pan or beef broth if all the marinade has reduced so you have some gravy to serve meat with.

Slice meat, it should fall apart when you are slicing it and serve.

Serves 10 -12

5-lb Brisket or Chuck Roast with Carrots, String Beans, and Potatoes:

Clean meat and place in large glass dish, add marinade and then smear rub mixture all over meat. Cover pan tightly with saran wrap, refrigerate overnight or for several hours. Turn meat over in morning or half way through marinating.

Roast meat covered tightly at 290 degrees for 3 – 4 hours or grill meat slowly for 45 minutes turning as needed. Place meat in aluminum pan, cover tightly, turn middle gas burner off and put other gas burners on low (indirect heat) and cook for 3 hours or so on grill. Be sure grill lid is down when cooking.

Can add 1 pound of string beans, small baby carrots and mushrooms to roast about 1 hour before roast is done. If adding small potatoes place in roasting pan 2 hours before roast is done.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, ground pecans, sugar, and salt. Add the butter and blend until the mixture resembles course crumbs. Add ice water, working it in to bind the dough without becoming too wet and sticky. Form the dough into a ball; if dough is too crumbly, add more ice water. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes – or refrigerate and save for later use, up to 2 days.

Roll out dough, on a floured surface, into a 12-inch circle. Lay flattened pie dough into a 9-inch pie pan. Press dough into pan until tightly fitted and trim excess around the rim.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Filling:

In a small saucepan, over medium heat, melt the butter and the chocolate. Remove from heat and let cool. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs until frothy and then blend in the sugar. Stir in the syrup, vanilla, bourbon, salt, and the melted butter mixture until well blended.

Arrange the pecans on the bottom of the piecrust and carefully pour egg mixture over the pecans. Bake pie until filling is set and slightly puffed, about 45 minutes. Test for doneness by inserting a small knife into the center of the pie – the pie is ready when the knife comes out clean.

Transfer the pie to a rack and allow to cool completely before serving.

Using a knife, pierce about 4 deep holes in the lemon and place in a microwave safe bowl. Cover and microwave on high for 2 minutes. Place garlic head in microwave safe bowl and add enough water to cover garlic. Cover and microwave on high until soft, about 3 minutes. Allow garlic to cool and peel.

Pour lemon juice from bowl into a small cup. Cut lemon in half and squeeze the remaining juice into the same cup; reserve for gravy. Scrape down fruit from inside the lemon halves and discard. Chop lemon peels.

In a mini food processor, blend lemon peel and garlic until finely chopped. Add butter and all remaining ingredients; blend in processor.

Turkey:

Set rack at lowest position in oven and preheat to 325 degrees.

Transfer 2 Tablespoons of Lemon-Herb Butter to small bowl and reserve for gravy. Sprinkle main turkey cavity with salt and peer and coat with 2 Tablespoons of Lemon-Herb Butter.

Starting at the neck of the turkey, carefully slide your hand between the skin and the meat in order to loosen skin. Spread Lemon-Herb Butter over thigh and drumsticks on both sides. Position a few lemon slices under the skin. Spread remaining Lemon-Herb Butter over breast meat and arrange lemon slices atop the butter beneath the skin. Fill the main cavity with any remaining herbs and lemon slices.

Place turkey on a rack in a large roasting pan. Rub the outside of turkey with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour stock into pan.

Roast turkey until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers at 165 to 170 degrees, about 3 hours. Tilt turkey so the juices from the main cavity run into the pan. Transfer turkey to platter. Tent loosely with foil; allow to rest for at least 30 minutes. Reserve pan.

In a large heavy saucepan, heat the reserved 2 Tablespoons fat over medium high heat. Add garlic and shallot and sauté for 2 minutes. Add flour, whisking until golden, about 4 minutes. Add pan juices and 2 cups stock. Bring to a boil, whisking until smooth. Reduce heat and simmer until gravy is reduced to desired thickness, about 4 minutes. Whisk in the reserved 2 Tablespoons of the Lemon-Herb Butter, reserved 2 Tablespoons lemon juice, lemon peel, and sugar. Then add the herbs. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

It’s the Time of the Season

The summer is fabulous time to enjoy the bounty of fresh fruits and vegetables from your booming local farmer’s markets. But as the seasons begin to change and autumn starts to roll in, we also have to start welcoming the changing produce. Knowing what’s in season during the colder months is key and organizing and preparing your kitchen is extremely helpful in making that transition.

Keep it Local, Eat Seasonal

Because not of all us live in the perfect epicenter of an agricultural hub, make sure that you’re choosing the fruits and vegetables that are in season for your regional climate. Make sure to source out your local farmer’s markets to find the bulk of locally seasonal produce. This will ensure that the food you are eating hasn’t travelled thousands of miles before reaching your plate and that you will be getting the freshest product possible.

Seasonal Choices

Educate yourself on what is seasonal not only for this time of year, but also for your regional area.

In the summer, your kitchen may have been constantly filled with seasonal summer favorites like tomatoes, lemons, and zucchini. So why not do the same for fall? Make sure your kitchen is stocked with cans of pumpkin and beans, frozen winter squash, and plenty of warm spices, that way you’ll be able to make fall goodies like pumping cookies and hot chili at a moment’s notice.

Get Ready

If you’ve got a properly prepared and organized kitchen, you’ll be able to whip up dozens of fall dishes without hesitations.

De-clutter – No matter the size of your kitchen space, you should always optimize every inch in order to work efficiently. Sort through all of your kitchen tools and toss or donate anything you don’t use or need. You’ve got triple of the same measuring cups? Donate them! Do what you can to free up space.

Organize – Create space categories for all of the items in your kitchen. Group items together based on use or type. For example, designate a space only for bakeware…Do the same for food by grouping items together by type, like canned goods, or by use, like breakfast items.

Clean Out Your Pantry – Take a moment to rifle through your pantry, discarding any foods that have expired, gone bad, or have simply been sitting around just a little too long. You can also utilize this time to take inventory of what’s in and missing from your pantry. The more you’re aware of what you’ve got, the more money and hassle you’ll save yourself at the grocery store.

Stock Up – After you make inventory of what you have and what you still need, hit up your local grocery store or farmer’s market and stock up on the autumn essentials we mentioned earlier. You can never have enough seasonal local produce! Now is also a good time to re-stock on all of your baking ingredients like flour and sugar…as the holidays roll around, it’s always good to be prepared for when you need to whip up some baked goods!

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Meet Jodi Abel

Jodi Abel is a self-taught chef, author and team building expert, residing in La Jolla, California. When she’s not sharing her love of food with her guests at Lajollacooks4u, she’s cooking her way around the world to bring exciting new farm-to-table recipes home to California.
To learn more about Lajollacooks4u, visit www.Lajollacooks4u.com.

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"Jodi and her team are amazing! First, I showed up expecting to have to help and she insisted I enjoy myself and let her team handle all the details. They way they handled everything from determining teams, to the activity itself, to the judging, this was beyond my expectations. I HIGHLY recommend LaJollaCooks4u to anyone looking for a unique and memorable experience." - Jenni Hasti, Tritech

"Best cooking class we have ever attended! I learned some great cooking tips, consumed some lovely wines and shared a delightful meal all the superb guidance of Chef Jodi and her amazing, wonderful staff!"
- Karen & Scott Stone, Coldwell Banker